Thank you for your support. We look forward to welcoming you to the rescheduled event.

For more information visit the website at www.iamusic.org/

UPDATED 2.40pm Monday

I Am Music have released another statement about the festival, which was due to be held on Saturday.

It reads: "It is with much regret that the I Am Music Festival 2014 scheduled for 26th July 2014 in Castle Park, Colchester, was postponed by Colchester Borough Council less than 48 hours before the event was due to take place.

"Unyime Udo and fellow directors wish to make the following statement on behalf of I Am Music Community Group, the organisers of the Festival.

"I Am Music is a grassroots organisation consisting of young people who love music and dance.

"The festival was created to give a stage for the many talented children, young people and artists who we have the honour of working with.

"Throughout the planning process for the festival we worked closely with the council and engaged, on the council's recommendation, a Health and Safety consultant approved by the council to advise on all matters concerned with health and safety.

"Despite providing all requested information and assessments, and giving assurances to the council of appropriate agreements with suppliers for the provision of fencing, emergency lighting and toilets, the council representatives were not willing to accept the plans and engage with us further to keep the event on track.

"Our deepest concern and sadness is for the young performers who have been left disappointed by the postponement of this event after many months of rehearsals and our hearts go out to them.

"We are working hard to find a new date and venue urgently in order to bring this festival back to life and give the young people the chance to shine and star on the stage.

"Ticket holders who purchased their tickets through the website can obtain a refund or transfer to the new event date, when announced, via the I Am Music website.

"Full terms and conditions of refund and transfers are given on the website.

"Ticket holders who purchased through a school or other cash option will be refunded directly through the original point of payment."

UPDATE Friday 5pm

Statement from I Am Music:

"In spite of the various messages that you may have seen in the media, I AM MUSIC Community Group would like to inform you that the community event scheduled for Saturday 26th July 2014 at Castle Park Colchester has been postponed due to circumstances beyond our control.

"We sincerely apologise for what has happened and the inconveniences this has caused you.

"Once a new date has been confirmed we will provide full details.

"Any tickets previously purchased will be accepted under the same terms and conditions.

A Colchester Council spokesman said: “After emergency talks with police and organisers last night, Colchester Council has withdrawn the use of Castle Park as the venue for the I Am Music festival, which was due to take place on Saturday.

"This was on the grounds of serious health and safety issues and police advice that this would not be a safe event from a crime and disorder perspective.

“The organisers of the festival were given a substantial amount to time to arrange the event and put in place the safety features required for a festival of this magnitude.

“Even though the organisers had the support of the Safety Advisory Group, who have been trying to resolve a variety of their issues for some time, they have been unable to meet the criteria of providing a safe event.

“The problems involve security and safety regulations including inadequate or no provision for emergency lighting, toilets on site, security staff and security fencing (which in turn means the stage can not be assembled), with no evidence provided to mitigate any individual issue.

"Therefore, failing to provide proof that public welfare and safety measures agreed during the event planning process would be delivered or had been organised.

“Subsequently, the Council and Police have agreed the festival is not safe to go ahead.”

UPDATE 10.30am

Tim Young, Colchester Council safety boss, said: "We weren't confident that the event could be held safely and there were concerns from Essex Police as well.

"They could not give us the assurances that we needed.

"People will be disappointed, but we can't allow something to go ahead which may not be safe and which we do not have assurances over."

UPDATE 9.45am

Colchester Council has confirmed the event was pulled due to health and safety concerns.

Share your thoughts on the announcement by emailing zoe.forsey@nqe.com.

I feel sorry for the 100s of children that have been practicing for months, paid extortionate amounts of money for tickets, paid for extra rehersals and costumes, were told that Diversity and rudimental would be there originally, are ready for dress rehersals today and to top it all off have still not been told officially by the company it is cancelled! Community festival......really
? Disgusted!

I feel sorry for the 100s of children that have been practicing for months, paid extortionate amounts of money for tickets, paid for extra rehersals and costumes, were told that Diversity and rudimental would be there originally, are ready for dress rehersals today and to top it all off have still not been told officially by the company it is cancelled! Community festival......really
? Disgusted!G1981P

ExPatMiddlesexer wrote:
Ipswich put on great festivals. Why doesn't it work here?

Colchester puts on good events occasionally too, and the free festival is one of the good ones. Costly acts and strict rules likely put people off coming to this. To be honest though I can't think of anything good in Ipswich in the last few years either.
It's actually quite annoying as this failure by a private promoter will likely cause issues to other promoters who want to do similar things. There's going to be a lot of people let down who aren't going to want to book to play here again anytime soon.

[quote][p][bold]ExPatMiddlesexer[/bold] wrote:
Ipswich put on great festivals. Why doesn't it work here?[/p][/quote]Colchester puts on good events occasionally too, and the free festival is one of the good ones. Costly acts and strict rules likely put people off coming to this. To be honest though I can't think of anything good in Ipswich in the last few years either.
It's actually quite annoying as this failure by a private promoter will likely cause issues to other promoters who want to do similar things. There's going to be a lot of people let down who aren't going to want to book to play here again anytime soon.wormshero

G1981P wrote:
I feel sorry for the 100s of children that have been practicing for months, paid extortionate amounts of money for tickets, paid for extra rehersals and costumes, were told that Diversity and rudimental would be there originally, are ready for dress rehersals today and to top it all off have still not been told officially by the company it is cancelled! Community festival......really

? Disgusted!

Spot on. I'm very disgusted.

[quote][p][bold]G1981P[/bold] wrote:
I feel sorry for the 100s of children that have been practicing for months, paid extortionate amounts of money for tickets, paid for extra rehersals and costumes, were told that Diversity and rudimental would be there originally, are ready for dress rehersals today and to top it all off have still not been told officially by the company it is cancelled! Community festival......really
? Disgusted![/p][/quote]Spot on. I'm very disgusted.tomclover

I would have loved to have gone to this but was priced out by the cost of tickets.
I feel sorry for all the stall holders and performers and anyone who has advanced tickets who have spent hard earned money for this overpriced event.

I would have loved to have gone to this but was priced out by the cost of tickets.
I feel sorry for all the stall holders and performers and anyone who has advanced tickets who have spent hard earned money for this overpriced event.Taj

pingu wrote:
Colchester and fun the council dnt like that. And was it free council really hate that. This council doesn't want ppl in it. Disappointed especially all those ppl that have rehearsed

It wasn't free, tickets started at £40 upwards.

It's always sad to hear an event in Colchester has to be cancelled, especially when local artists and children are involved.

Allegedly it was cancelled on Police advise, which only happens on the ground of public safety.

I've seen little advertising for it and the line up seems poorly conceived.

[quote][p][bold]pingu[/bold] wrote:
Colchester and fun the council dnt like that. And was it free council really hate that. This council doesn't want ppl in it. Disappointed especially all those ppl that have rehearsed[/p][/quote]It wasn't free, tickets started at £40 upwards.
It's always sad to hear an event in Colchester has to be cancelled, especially when local artists and children are involved.
Allegedly it was cancelled on Police advise, which only happens on the ground of public safety.
I've seen little advertising for it and the line up seems poorly conceived.jim_bo

pingu wrote:
Colchester and fun the council dnt like that. And was it free council really hate that. This council doesn't want ppl in it. Disappointed especially all those ppl that have rehearsed

Why mention the Council? It's not their event.

[quote][p][bold]pingu[/bold] wrote:
Colchester and fun the council dnt like that. And was it free council really hate that. This council doesn't want ppl in it. Disappointed especially all those ppl that have rehearsed[/p][/quote]Why mention the Council? It's not their event.Oliver Guiness

ExPatMiddlesexer wrote:
Ipswich put on great festivals. Why doesn't it work here?

Have you not noticed the Colchester Comedy Festival. A very good event. Lots of other successful events in the Park plus Elton John at WHCS. All seems okay to me.

This just looked like someone trying to organise more than they were capable of and tickets being way to expensive. One decent band that people would pay £15-20 for, not over £40.

[quote][p][bold]ExPatMiddlesexer[/bold] wrote:
Ipswich put on great festivals. Why doesn't it work here?[/p][/quote]Have you not noticed the Colchester Comedy Festival. A very good event. Lots of other successful events in the Park plus Elton John at WHCS. All seems okay to me.
This just looked like someone trying to organise more than they were capable of and tickets being way to expensive. One decent band that people would pay £15-20 for, not over £40.Oliver Guiness

It's a shame for all the people who were involved in this. It seems that it was a well-intentioned endeavour, but done without anybody stepping back and looking with objective eyes at it. Tickets were too expensive for the artists on offer. £20 a head should be the absolute maximum, and then be able to come and go.. There was almost zero marketing of this. My kids are the age range which they would be looking at, living within a few mins of the park, and they had never heard of it.

I remember a few years ago a similar thing run by Dream 100, and again the first anybody knew about it was when the stage was being put up. Not surprisingly, it also bombed, with maybe 200 tickets sold. I understand that the ticket sales were about the same for this event.

Where was the Facebook presence, where were the posters around town? They could have done this with more local bands who have a decent following locally, which automatically boosts the ticket sales. How many youngsters were ever going to shell out £40 (plus food and drink all day) to watch some boy band that was 4th on X-Factor a few years ago?

Instead, there are now the local performers with nothing to perform, stallholders losing a night's income unless they can rapidly find somewhere else, and sadly, the organisers will probably take quite a substantial personal hit due to the costs already incurred. It costs a 4-figure sum to hire out the park for the day.

Sad all around, really.

It's a shame for all the people who were involved in this. It seems that it was a well-intentioned endeavour, but done without anybody stepping back and looking with objective eyes at it. Tickets were too expensive for the artists on offer. £20 a head should be the absolute maximum, and then be able to come and go.. There was almost zero marketing of this. My kids are the age range which they would be looking at, living within a few mins of the park, and they had never heard of it.
I remember a few years ago a similar thing run by Dream 100, and again the first anybody knew about it was when the stage was being put up. Not surprisingly, it also bombed, with maybe 200 tickets sold. I understand that the ticket sales were about the same for this event.
Where was the Facebook presence, where were the posters around town? They could have done this with more local bands who have a decent following locally, which automatically boosts the ticket sales. How many youngsters were ever going to shell out £40 (plus food and drink all day) to watch some boy band that was 4th on X-Factor a few years ago?
Instead, there are now the local performers with nothing to perform, stallholders losing a night's income unless they can rapidly find somewhere else, and sadly, the organisers will probably take quite a substantial personal hit due to the costs already incurred. It costs a 4-figure sum to hire out the park for the day.
Sad all around, really.romantic

sam vines wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.

Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website

[quote][p][bold]sam vines[/bold] wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.[/p][/quote]Agree but there is an address in Langham on the websiteOliver Guiness

sam vines wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.

If you read their T&C should the event be cancelled there is a deduction of a £5 per ticket admin fee from the refund, you have to apply by August 31 and it may take three months to get your money.

[quote][p][bold]sam vines[/bold] wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.[/p][/quote]If you read their T&C should the event be cancelled there is a deduction of a £5 per ticket admin fee from the refund, you have to apply by August 31 and it may take three months to get your money.hughie-s

sam vines wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.

Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website

That address appears to be the registered company address used by lots of companies - accountants or mail drop??

[quote][p][bold]Oliver Guiness[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]sam vines[/bold] wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.[/p][/quote]Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website[/p][/quote]That address appears to be the registered company address used by lots of companies - accountants or mail drop??hughie-s

sam vines wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.

Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website

That address appears to be the registered company address used by lots of companies - accountants or mail drop??

Interesting to know if the people of Colchester are going to loose out as I assume you cant just take over lower castle park for free for an event.

[quote][p][bold]hughie-s[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Oliver Guiness[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]sam vines[/bold] wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.[/p][/quote]Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website[/p][/quote]That address appears to be the registered company address used by lots of companies - accountants or mail drop??[/p][/quote]Interesting to know if the people of Colchester are going to loose out as I assume you cant just take over lower castle park for free for an event.sam vines

sam vines wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.

Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website

That address appears to be the registered company address used by lots of companies - accountants or mail drop??

It might be but looking at a mapping system there appears to be separate units on the site.

[quote][p][bold]hughie-s[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Oliver Guiness[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]sam vines[/bold] wrote:
I hope everyone who bought tickets get a refund fast. However a 07800 mobile number seems a bit suspect as the main number for a business.[/p][/quote]Agree but there is an address in Langham on the website[/p][/quote]That address appears to be the registered company address used by lots of companies - accountants or mail drop??[/p][/quote]It might be but looking at a mapping system there appears to be separate units on the site.Oliver Guiness

jgiles09 wrote:
The fact it was £32 for tickets wasnt the issue then? Colchester isn't Chelmsford or reading. People won't pay those prices especially with who was playing!!!

Or over £40 if not bought way in advance. If the act is right then people will pay as demonstrated by Elton John's prices at WHCS

[quote][p][bold]jgiles09[/bold] wrote:
The fact it was £32 for tickets wasnt the issue then? Colchester isn't Chelmsford or reading. People won't pay those prices especially with who was playing!!![/p][/quote]Or over £40 if not bought way in advance. If the act is right then people will pay as demonstrated by Elton John's prices at WHCSOliver Guiness

I have received this email as I had a group of children performing at the event... Apologies in the way you may have found out. It was leaked online early so you can see why we had to follow online as opposed to speaking to individuals. I can assure you up until 8pm last night everything was attempted to save the event. It has come to our attention, obviously unexpected, that the CEO and the finance director had informed us that certain things had been done and paid for, when this was a lie. Therefore the police pulled the event late evening last night. Once again sincere apologies, I understand the backlash you will have to deal with children and parents, and we will do all we can to help. However we are having to cover all angles right now also so close to the event. For any queries we are requesting individuals to contact the CEOs number, which I gave in the last email, however as a reminder it is 07800 848727.

I have received this email as I had a group of children performing at the event... Apologies in the way you may have found out. It was leaked online early so you can see why we had to follow online as opposed to speaking to individuals. I can assure you up until 8pm last night everything was attempted to save the event. It has come to our attention, obviously unexpected, that the CEO and the finance director had informed us that certain things had been done and paid for, when this was a lie. Therefore the police pulled the event late evening last night. Once again sincere apologies, I understand the backlash you will have to deal with children and parents, and we will do all we can to help. However we are having to cover all angles right now also so close to the event. For any queries we are requesting individuals to contact the CEOs number, which I gave in the last email, however as a reminder it is 07800 848727.Bibizab

I am music is being run from a bedroom its not a professional setup its basically being run by one person and thats only in there spare time. Before this it was doing small events at the university how it was given castle park is the councils fault. Ticket prices were way too high there was likely going to be trouble from what I had been hearing. It just shows you with a flashy website somebody could think your a professional setup.

I am music is being run from a bedroom its not a professional setup its basically being run by one person and thats only in there spare time. Before this it was doing small events at the university how it was given castle park is the councils fault. Ticket prices were way too high there was likely going to be trouble from what I had been hearing. It just shows you with a flashy website somebody could think your a professional setup.donttellanyone

donttellanyone wrote:
I am music is being run from a bedroom its not a professional setup its basically being run by one person and thats only in there spare time. Before this it was doing small events at the university how it was given castle park is the councils fault. Ticket prices were way too high there was likely going to be trouble from what I had been hearing. It just shows you with a flashy website somebody could think your a professional setup.

Which has 4 directors oldest being 32 and three surprisingly have the same surname.

[quote][p][bold]donttellanyone[/bold] wrote:
I am music is being run from a bedroom its not a professional setup its basically being run by one person and thats only in there spare time. Before this it was doing small events at the university how it was given castle park is the councils fault. Ticket prices were way too high there was likely going to be trouble from what I had been hearing. It just shows you with a flashy website somebody could think your a professional setup.[/p][/quote]Which has 4 directors oldest being 32 and three surprisingly have the same surname.sam vines

Surely if there were major problems these should have been flagged up and tackled or the event cancelled weeks ago - not the day before it was due to happen? Something fishy going on here and I bet the organisers won't end up out of pocket.....

Surely if there were major problems these should have been flagged up and tackled or the event cancelled weeks ago - not the day before it was due to happen? Something fishy going on here and I bet the organisers won't end up out of pocket.....Red Tape 2

How did this event not get checked weeks ago by whoever pulled it to ensure everything was in place.
It is very unprofessional and embarrassing for Colchester .
And on top of that there are no problems that can't be overcome given the right team is managing an event .
We brought a ticket for our daughter weeks ago and will not be losing get £5 admin fee as there clearly was no admin going on ,the tickets were sold under false pretences.
What possible safety concerns could there be that were not addressed in the risk assessment that was done for this event and that could not be sorted out even at this late stage.

How did this event not get checked weeks ago by whoever pulled it to ensure everything was in place.
It is very unprofessional and embarrassing for Colchester .
And on top of that there are no problems that can't be overcome given the right team is managing an event .
We brought a ticket for our daughter weeks ago and will not be losing get £5 admin fee as there clearly was no admin going on ,the tickets were sold under false pretences.
What possible safety concerns could there be that were not addressed in the risk assessment that was done for this event and that could not be sorted out even at this late stage.chargerqq

chargerqq wrote:
How did this event not get checked weeks ago by whoever pulled it to ensure everything was in place.
It is very unprofessional and embarrassing for Colchester .
And on top of that there are no problems that can't be overcome given the right team is managing an event .
We brought a ticket for our daughter weeks ago and will not be losing get £5 admin fee as there clearly was no admin going on ,the tickets were sold under false pretences.
What possible safety concerns could there be that were not addressed in the risk assessment that was done for this event and that could not be sorted out even at this late stage.

Health and safety was probably had not paid for event stewards the extra policing and first aid and the licence to serve alcohol . If anyone paid by debt or credit card I would contact your provider for peace of mind no other transactions are taking place with your card details.

[quote][p][bold]chargerqq[/bold] wrote:
How did this event not get checked weeks ago by whoever pulled it to ensure everything was in place.
It is very unprofessional and embarrassing for Colchester .
And on top of that there are no problems that can't be overcome given the right team is managing an event .
We brought a ticket for our daughter weeks ago and will not be losing get £5 admin fee as there clearly was no admin going on ,the tickets were sold under false pretences.
What possible safety concerns could there be that were not addressed in the risk assessment that was done for this event and that could not be sorted out even at this late stage.[/p][/quote]Health and safety was probably had not paid for event stewards the extra policing and first aid and the licence to serve alcohol . If anyone paid by debt or credit card I would contact your provider for peace of mind no other transactions are taking place with your card details.sam vines

I think the admin fee goes to the ticket seller, which is pretty standard really - I've never known a cancelled event refund the admin fee as the admin fee never goes to the people putting on the event, it just pays for the upkeep and staff of the ticket website (which ends up having to do twice as much as it has to ensure money goes back to the right people).

If it was pulled by the council on advice on the police then the odds are they didn't hire suitable security, or at least not enough, to handle the number of people, or the fencing was inadequate (which is pretty hard to do wrong to be honest - i've worked on events in colchester where single heras fencing was plenty - it's not glastonbury, it doesn't need "the wall"). Either way its likely the necessary requirements would have been discussed earlier on and just not met, I doubt they'd have been in the dark until yesterday and suddenly told "you need this, this and this"

I think the admin fee goes to the ticket seller, which is pretty standard really - I've never known a cancelled event refund the admin fee as the admin fee never goes to the people putting on the event, it just pays for the upkeep and staff of the ticket website (which ends up having to do twice as much as it has to ensure money goes back to the right people).
If it was pulled by the council on advice on the police then the odds are they didn't hire suitable security, or at least not enough, to handle the number of people, or the fencing was inadequate (which is pretty hard to do wrong to be honest - i've worked on events in colchester where single heras fencing was plenty - it's not glastonbury, it doesn't need "the wall"). Either way its likely the necessary requirements would have been discussed earlier on and just not met, I doubt they'd have been in the dark until yesterday and suddenly told "you need this, this and this"wormshero

Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.

Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.Ozzie

Ozzie wrote:
Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.

Why blame the Council Ozzie? If not's their event and was cancelled on Health and Safety grounds on police advice. Either blame H & S laws or the organiser.

[quote][p][bold]Ozzie[/bold] wrote:
Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.[/p][/quote]Why blame the Council Ozzie? If not's their event and was cancelled on Health and Safety grounds on police advice. Either blame H & S laws or the organiser.Oliver Guiness

Ozzie wrote:
Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.

It wasn't this event which used to be free, that was the Free Festival. The Free Festival was entirely local acts so the costs are significantly lower. It wouldn't be feasible to put on acts of this expense for free without huge amounts of sponsorship. I don't think it's fair to blame CTC for the poor organisation of the event mind you.

[quote][p][bold]Ozzie[/bold] wrote:
Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.[/p][/quote]It wasn't this event which used to be free, that was the Free Festival. The Free Festival was entirely local acts so the costs are significantly lower. It wouldn't be feasible to put on acts of this expense for free without huge amounts of sponsorship. I don't think it's fair to blame CTC for the poor organisation of the event mind you.wormshero

Ozzie wrote:
Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.

CBC are often horribly incompetent, but in this case, they are not the ones who have organised this!

The organisers would have arranged to hire the park from the council. For Lower Park, that would cost almost £5,000 for the hours this is open (http://www.colchest
er.gov.uk/CHttpHandl
er.ashx?id=12485&p=0
). If they have only sold 200 tickets (as I believe is the case), the income from that scarcely covers this hire cost, let alone the costs of the bands, security, toilets etc. If you hire the park, the council will lay down a series of requirements that need to be met - the gist of it being that nobody is in danger, nobody makes too much noise, and the place reverts to normal at an agreed time.

I got a letter through the door just the other day about this, and I suspect it came because the council was making last-minute checks with the organisers such as: have you warned local residents? have you got security arrangements in place as promised? etc. Letters can be run off quickly, but if everything else looked to be not ready, the contracts signed by the organisers will say that the event can be stopped.

The alternative would have been 200 or so very unhappy youngsters feeling aggrieved about the whole thing - rip-off food, water for £2 a bottle and no way to get off site. And then finding out that the main act is not coming. To me, that's a recipe for disorder!

We have had the Free Festival, which I believe should be back next year. That was also not run by the council, but by, in essence, volunteers. Events of any sort do not "just happen". A lot of people put a lot of work into making an event happen. I'm sure the people who arranged this festival worked hard, but were in beyond their depth. It is a sad lesson in the importance of stepping back and coldly assessing whether something really will work. But in this case at least, not the council's fault!

[quote][p][bold]Ozzie[/bold] wrote:
Convenient inconvenience to all concerned. Typical of the sham council and their associated officialdom. Very disappointing for everyone - performers and audience alike. However, the event was poorly advertised and not until earlier this week did I begin to see the event adverts appearing. Unfortunately I guess stewards, as proven at Colchester United, are a very expensive necessity and the powers that be decided that the costs far outweighed the potential revenue so they cancelled the event. Why not make the event free as it used to be as it is in Ipswich or make a nominal charge? Either way, it was poorly organised and dealt with particularly the notification of late cancellation.[/p][/quote]CBC are often horribly incompetent, but in this case, they are not the ones who have organised this!
The organisers would have arranged to hire the park from the council. For Lower Park, that would cost almost £5,000 for the hours this is open (http://www.colchest
er.gov.uk/CHttpHandl
er.ashx?id=12485&p=0
). If they have only sold 200 tickets (as I believe is the case), the income from that scarcely covers this hire cost, let alone the costs of the bands, security, toilets etc. If you hire the park, the council will lay down a series of requirements that need to be met - the gist of it being that nobody is in danger, nobody makes too much noise, and the place reverts to normal at an agreed time.
I got a letter through the door just the other day about this, and I suspect it came because the council was making last-minute checks with the organisers such as: have you warned local residents? have you got security arrangements in place as promised? etc. Letters can be run off quickly, but if everything else looked to be not ready, the contracts signed by the organisers will say that the event can be stopped.
The alternative would have been 200 or so very unhappy youngsters feeling aggrieved about the whole thing - rip-off food, water for £2 a bottle and no way to get off site. And then finding out that the main act is not coming. To me, that's a recipe for disorder!
We have had the Free Festival, which I believe should be back next year. That was also not run by the council, but by, in essence, volunteers. Events of any sort do not "just happen". A lot of people put a lot of work into making an event happen. I'm sure the people who arranged this festival worked hard, but were in beyond their depth. It is a sad lesson in the importance of stepping back and coldly assessing whether something really will work. But in this case at least, not the council's fault!romantic

ExPatMiddlesexer wrote:
Ipswich put on great festivals. Why doesn't it work here?

Could it be because Ipswich is easy to get to, so Colchester people go there?

Yes I've often heard people living in Colchester complaining that they find it difficult to get to where they already are.

[quote][p][bold]Boris[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]ExPatMiddlesexer[/bold] wrote:
Ipswich put on great festivals. Why doesn't it work here?[/p][/quote]Could it be because Ipswich is easy to get to, so Colchester people go there?[/p][/quote]Yes I've often heard people living in Colchester complaining that they find it difficult to get to where they already are.co4

I was contacted about the security for the event and there were sufficient numbers to cover the event from what I had heard. The organisers still couldn't be contacted this morning to say it had been cancelled and now those who had banked on that work now don't have it available and are working to find alternate work. Not always sun contractors faults sometimes the organisers need to own up that they messed up

I was contacted about the security for the event and there were sufficient numbers to cover the event from what I had heard. The organisers still couldn't be contacted this morning to say it had been cancelled and now those who had banked on that work now don't have it available and are working to find alternate work. Not always sun contractors faults sometimes the organisers need to own up that they messed upALIUK1

Irrelevant what proportion of the money goes where people should get a full refund.
If you went to buy a kitchen and paid in full at time of order if your kitchen got cancelled and you were told you would get a full refund excluding a administration fee of any amount I am sure people would just say "that's fine I don't mind as they had to order it and then cancel it so it's only right I pay them for their time" the hell you would you would want every penny back

Irrelevant what proportion of the money goes where people should get a full refund.
If you went to buy a kitchen and paid in full at time of order if your kitchen got cancelled and you were told you would get a full refund excluding a administration fee of any amount I am sure people would just say "that's fine I don't mind as they had to order it and then cancel it so it's only right I pay them for their time" the hell you would you would want every penny backchargerqq

Absolutely disgusting that the event not only was pulled at the last minute but we had to find out from Facebook. Companies like this are quick enough to take your money (which I add was quite high for what it was), but as soon as it starts to crumble they abandon ship without a thought for their customers and in the process rip you off another £5 for good measure! All we can hope is that applying for a refund will be less painful than I'm expecting it to be. Up to 3 months is an absolute joke-and we only have until 31/8/14 (5 weeks) to apply, we'll good luck I'm going to try right now :-(

Absolutely disgusting that the event not only was pulled at the last minute but we had to find out from Facebook. Companies like this are quick enough to take your money (which I add was quite high for what it was), but as soon as it starts to crumble they abandon ship without a thought for their customers and in the process rip you off another £5 for good measure! All we can hope is that applying for a refund will be less painful than I'm expecting it to be. Up to 3 months is an absolute joke-and we only have until 31/8/14 (5 weeks) to apply, we'll good luck I'm going to try right now :-(Shezxxxxx

jim_bo wrote:
Remember if you brought tickets on credit card then you can get a full refund via your card company.

I believe you are only covered if you used your credit card to buy goods or services costing £100 or more!

[quote][p][bold]jim_bo[/bold] wrote:
Remember if you brought tickets on credit card then you can get a full refund via your card company.[/p][/quote]I believe you are only covered if you used your credit card to buy goods or services costing £100 or more!Route88

I have seen many festivals cancelled in the last few years all over the country !! Well intentioned amateurs bite off more than they can chew... H&S is always blamed, refunds less admin fee alaways promised .. nothing ever refunded !!

A|anyone who paid, you've lost it & credit cards only protect £100 + debit cards protect nothing at all !!

bad luck

I have seen many festivals cancelled in the last few years all over the country !! Well intentioned amateurs bite off more than they can chew... H&S is always blamed, refunds less admin fee alaways promised .. nothing ever refunded !!
A|anyone who paid, you've lost it & credit cards only protect £100 + debit cards protect nothing at all !!
bad luckSamBatchelor

Personally I think that these music festivals have become far too mainstream in nature and I don't see why kids today would bother with them. Take Glastonbury for example where , back in the day, it was cutting edge acts now its the likes of Dolly Parton and Shirley Bassey.
This Colchester festival was overpriced and the acts looked like mostly X factor type stuff. People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that.

Personally I think that these music festivals have become far too mainstream in nature and I don't see why kids today would bother with them. Take Glastonbury for example where , back in the day, it was cutting edge acts now its the likes of Dolly Parton and Shirley Bassey.
This Colchester festival was overpriced and the acts looked like mostly X factor type stuff. People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that.Mark Goacher

Red Tape 2 wrote:
Anyone know why they stopped running the Party in the Park events? They always seemed to be very popular.

I used to love the old picnic concerts! Bring them back! So many good memories of the 80's night one

[quote][p][bold]Red Tape 2[/bold] wrote:
Anyone know why they stopped running the Party in the Park events? They always seemed to be very popular.[/p][/quote]I used to love the old picnic concerts! Bring them back! So many good memories of the 80's night oneAuntMelons

Red Tape 2 wrote:
Anyone know why they stopped running the Party in the Park events? They always seemed to be very popular.

I used to love the old picnic concerts! Bring them back! So many good memories of the 80's night one

Cost.....?

Competition from the free festival....?

[quote][p][bold]AuntMelons[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Red Tape 2[/bold] wrote:
Anyone know why they stopped running the Party in the Park events? They always seemed to be very popular.[/p][/quote]I used to love the old picnic concerts! Bring them back! So many good memories of the 80's night one[/p][/quote]Cost.....?
Competition from the free festival....?jim_bo

Mark Goacher wrote:
Personally I think that these music festivals have become far too mainstream in nature and I don't see why kids today would bother with them. Take Glastonbury for example where , back in the day, it was cutting edge acts now its the likes of Dolly Parton and Shirley Bassey.
This Colchester festival was overpriced and the acts looked like mostly X factor type stuff. People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that.

I can't help but read "People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that" as being a "things were much better when I was younger, today's music is boring in comparison".

The main stage of Glastonbury is, for the most part, big name acts (and some other art forms on the Sunday) but the place has 100 stages. Fair enough, if you spend the entire weekend standing at the Pyramid you're just watching the big name acts (not that all of them are that boring - as someone who finds Jack White dull I can safely say he put on an incredible show) but you just walk 15 minutes to the smaller stages for the interesting acts. The Park is still a big stage but features some much more interesting music and then you can work your way down to the various bandstands and the like then you have tiny, far more interesting bands (and the old political ones). I used to dismiss it as a popular music festival until I went and in reality it's pretty crazy if you don't just stick to the familiar. And besides, you're using the most mainstream festival as an example of mainstream festivals - if you head to ArcTanGent (my personal favourite UK festival) half the bands there blow people's minds, there's an incredible atmosphere and some of the most interesting music in the country. There's quite a lot of niche festivals that put on some mind-blowing music and then there's even more middle festivals who cater to the mainstream while giving people the choice to be challenged.

Obviously I am Music's failed festival isn't one of those and is far further to the side of mainstream than even V Festival. I just find the idea that festivals aren't what they used to be a bit ridiculous - would I have wanted to go to Woodstock? Hell yes. Do I think it would be better than today's festivals? I wouldn't know - you don't get the same feeling watching it on tv or dvd. It wouldn't be possible to compare unless you decided to explore both and see what's really there. I doubt the kind of people going to I am Music would appreciate the bands of Woodstock anyway, to be fair.

[quote][p][bold]Mark Goacher[/bold] wrote:
Personally I think that these music festivals have become far too mainstream in nature and I don't see why kids today would bother with them. Take Glastonbury for example where , back in the day, it was cutting edge acts now its the likes of Dolly Parton and Shirley Bassey.
This Colchester festival was overpriced and the acts looked like mostly X factor type stuff. People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that.[/p][/quote]I can't help but read "People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that" as being a "things were much better when I was younger, today's music is boring in comparison".
The main stage of Glastonbury is, for the most part, big name acts (and some other art forms on the Sunday) but the place has 100 stages. Fair enough, if you spend the entire weekend standing at the Pyramid you're just watching the big name acts (not that all of them are that boring - as someone who finds Jack White dull I can safely say he put on an incredible show) but you just walk 15 minutes to the smaller stages for the interesting acts. The Park is still a big stage but features some much more interesting music and then you can work your way down to the various bandstands and the like then you have tiny, far more interesting bands (and the old political ones). I used to dismiss it as a popular music festival until I went and in reality it's pretty crazy if you don't just stick to the familiar. And besides, you're using the most mainstream festival as an example of mainstream festivals - if you head to ArcTanGent (my personal favourite UK festival) half the bands there blow people's minds, there's an incredible atmosphere and some of the most interesting music in the country. There's quite a lot of niche festivals that put on some mind-blowing music and then there's even more middle festivals who cater to the mainstream while giving people the choice to be challenged.
Obviously I am Music's failed festival isn't one of those and is far further to the side of mainstream than even V Festival. I just find the idea that festivals aren't what they used to be a bit ridiculous - would I have wanted to go to Woodstock? Hell yes. Do I think it would be better than today's festivals? I wouldn't know - you don't get the same feeling watching it on tv or dvd. It wouldn't be possible to compare unless you decided to explore both and see what's really there. I doubt the kind of people going to I am Music would appreciate the bands of Woodstock anyway, to be fair.wormshero

@gmail address just proves that it was not the council being wrong but that the organisers are not professional and have no idea whatsoever. If any one gets there money back they will be lucky. A real shame, because Colchester is a great place to have a festival.

@gmail address just proves that it was not the council being wrong but that the organisers are not professional and have no idea whatsoever. If any one gets there money back they will be lucky. A real shame, because Colchester is a great place to have a festival.Bing Bong

julieee wrote:
No mentin of how performers are to recover costs incurred?

Nor, indeed, the people who had booked stalls, quite a few of whom turned up Saturday morning because nobody had thought to let them know. They have paid for the pitch, but also all the stock, probably hired a helper - and, of course, lost the possibility of working at other events. They may, if lucky, get back the hire cost which would have been paid upfront, but are highly unlikely to get anything else back. If you've hired a spot based on a projection of 8,000 people being there, that could be a lot of food ending up in the bin.

[quote][p][bold]julieee[/bold] wrote:
No mentin of how performers are to recover costs incurred?[/p][/quote]Nor, indeed, the people who had booked stalls, quite a few of whom turned up Saturday morning because nobody had thought to let them know. They have paid for the pitch, but also all the stock, probably hired a helper - and, of course, lost the possibility of working at other events. They may, if lucky, get back the hire cost which would have been paid upfront, but are highly unlikely to get anything else back. If you've hired a spot based on a projection of 8,000 people being there, that could be a lot of food ending up in the bin.romantic

Mark Goacher wrote:
Personally I think that these music festivals have become far too mainstream in nature and I don't see why kids today would bother with them. Take Glastonbury for example where , back in the day, it was cutting edge acts now its the likes of Dolly Parton and Shirley Bassey.
This Colchester festival was overpriced and the acts looked like mostly X factor type stuff. People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that.

I can't help but read &quot;People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that" as being a "things were much better when I was younger, today's music is boring in comparison".

The main stage of Glastonbury is, for the most part, big name acts (and some other art forms on the Sunday) but the place has 100 stages. Fair enough, if you spend the entire weekend standing at the Pyramid you're just watching the big name acts (not that all of them are that boring - as someone who finds Jack White dull I can safely say he put on an incredible show) but you just walk 15 minutes to the smaller stages for the interesting acts. The Park is still a big stage but features some much more interesting music and then you can work your way down to the various bandstands and the like then you have tiny, far more interesting bands (and the old political ones). I used to dismiss it as a popular music festival until I went and in reality it's pretty crazy if you don't just stick to the familiar. And besides, you're using the most mainstream festival as an example of mainstream festivals - if you head to ArcTanGent (my personal favourite UK festival) half the bands there blow people's minds, there's an incredible atmosphere and some of the most interesting music in the country. There's quite a lot of niche festivals that put on some mind-blowing music and then there's even more middle festivals who cater to the mainstream while giving people the choice to be challenged.

Obviously I am Music's failed festival isn't one of those and is far further to the side of mainstream than even V Festival. I just find the idea that festivals aren't what they used to be a bit ridiculous - would I have wanted to go to Woodstock? Hell yes. Do I think it would be better than today's festivals? I wouldn't know - you don't get the same feeling watching it on tv or dvd. It wouldn't be possible to compare unless you decided to explore both and see what's really there. I doubt the kind of people going to I am Music would appreciate the bands of Woodstock anyway, to be fair.

Thanks for the response. I take your point that there are niche festivals out there with some great stuff and that there are smaller stages at Glastonbury. I suppose I was talking mainly about these big mainstream things, including the likes of Latitute & V. I don't attend them, well haven't been to a festival since 1997.
I am basically saying that the music was better way back when, as far as the stuff that gets airplay or in the charts is concerned. It seems to be now completely dominated by crass manufactured Simon Cowell stuff; Olly Murs etc and the craziest thing is that the youngsters seem to think that this sort of thing is cool; doing Karaoke versions of old songs or bland stuff written by professional teams. There has always been manufactured acts of course but not there seems to be nothing else. No cutting edge. Even the so-called 'indie' bands today sound bland and samy. Hardly the Smiths or the Roses.
My point really was that if you watch the Woodstock DVDs or Monterey Pop you can see that the acts were far more creative and that the audience were part of something bigger than just a bit of mainstream entertainment. Country Joe doing the 'FISH' cheer, Jefferson Airplane, CSNY.....
As far as the Colchester festival goes, I do think its unfortunate that the younger children who wanted to go were disappointed.

[quote][p][bold]wormshero[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Mark Goacher[/bold] wrote:
Personally I think that these music festivals have become far too mainstream in nature and I don't see why kids today would bother with them. Take Glastonbury for example where , back in the day, it was cutting edge acts now its the likes of Dolly Parton and Shirley Bassey.
This Colchester festival was overpriced and the acts looked like mostly X factor type stuff. People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that.[/p][/quote]I can't help but read "People would be better off buying a DVD of the Woodstock festival and enjoying that" as being a "things were much better when I was younger, today's music is boring in comparison".
The main stage of Glastonbury is, for the most part, big name acts (and some other art forms on the Sunday) but the place has 100 stages. Fair enough, if you spend the entire weekend standing at the Pyramid you're just watching the big name acts (not that all of them are that boring - as someone who finds Jack White dull I can safely say he put on an incredible show) but you just walk 15 minutes to the smaller stages for the interesting acts. The Park is still a big stage but features some much more interesting music and then you can work your way down to the various bandstands and the like then you have tiny, far more interesting bands (and the old political ones). I used to dismiss it as a popular music festival until I went and in reality it's pretty crazy if you don't just stick to the familiar. And besides, you're using the most mainstream festival as an example of mainstream festivals - if you head to ArcTanGent (my personal favourite UK festival) half the bands there blow people's minds, there's an incredible atmosphere and some of the most interesting music in the country. There's quite a lot of niche festivals that put on some mind-blowing music and then there's even more middle festivals who cater to the mainstream while giving people the choice to be challenged.
Obviously I am Music's failed festival isn't one of those and is far further to the side of mainstream than even V Festival. I just find the idea that festivals aren't what they used to be a bit ridiculous - would I have wanted to go to Woodstock? Hell yes. Do I think it would be better than today's festivals? I wouldn't know - you don't get the same feeling watching it on tv or dvd. It wouldn't be possible to compare unless you decided to explore both and see what's really there. I doubt the kind of people going to I am Music would appreciate the bands of Woodstock anyway, to be fair.[/p][/quote]Thanks for the response. I take your point that there are niche festivals out there with some great stuff and that there are smaller stages at Glastonbury. I suppose I was talking mainly about these big mainstream things, including the likes of Latitute & V. I don't attend them, well haven't been to a festival since 1997.
I am basically saying that the music was better way back when, as far as the stuff that gets airplay or in the charts is concerned. It seems to be now completely dominated by crass manufactured Simon Cowell stuff; Olly Murs etc and the craziest thing is that the youngsters seem to think that this sort of thing is cool; doing Karaoke versions of old songs or bland stuff written by professional teams. There has always been manufactured acts of course but not there seems to be nothing else. No cutting edge. Even the so-called 'indie' bands today sound bland and samy. Hardly the Smiths or the Roses.
My point really was that if you watch the Woodstock DVDs or Monterey Pop you can see that the acts were far more creative and that the audience were part of something bigger than just a bit of mainstream entertainment. Country Joe doing the 'FISH' cheer, Jefferson Airplane, CSNY.....
As far as the Colchester festival goes, I do think its unfortunate that the younger children who wanted to go were disappointed.Mark Goacher

[quote][p][bold]Over G[/bold] wrote:
JOHN HESSENTHALER
MORE MUSIC
COLCHESTER 1982 - 1990
Call him in he can put on show.
LOL[/p][/quote]Now there is a man who knows how to go bust.
Pheonixed more times than I've had hot dinners!jim_bo